Knox had been hanging around 8th street since before they put in the ATMs. We didn't know where he lived, but that's where he'd been ever since I'd moved here about ten years ago. He used a cracked ... [+]
Prima Facie
"SEX WORKER CHARGED WITH ALLEGED MURDER OF PROMINENT BUSINESSMAN"
Merida had read the sensational article on her way to work in the morning, then heard her colleagues speculating about the reasons behind the shocking backstabbing murder. As a new junior associate, she was just skimming through the new criminal cases received for the day to catch up, and her emails for instructions from the partners.
An email caught her eye.
PRO BONO CASE: GEYLANG MURDER
She opened it.
It was the case from the news this morning. The accused was being held in remand, and she needed a defence lawyer.
Through the gossiping of the associates, she heard only her own heartbeat.
A murder case meant the High Court, more work and more formalities atop the usual routine, even if it turned out to be a guilty plea. She knew that lawyers who took up murder defences got bad reps.
She also knew that lawyers would not be raring to defend a sex worker. Her fingers scrolled down the case file.
"You,
NAME: CHEN MEI YUN @ VELVET
GENDER / AGE: FEMALE / 25 YEARS OLD
...
are charged that on 1 May 2005 at about midnight, at Geylang...stabbed one Charles Lee in the back through his heart with a knife, with the intent to kill him...body was found...massage parlour...by another sex worker...declared dead..., and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 300(a) of the Penal Code 1871."
Merida felt her heart race. Female. 25 years old.
She knew this was an alleged murderer, but she couldn't help feeling for Mei Yun. She had to meet her at least once.
Her fingers hit her keyboard in quick succession. Then, her cursor hovered for a moment.
She pressed send.
— — —
associate4@lexgreyllp.com.sg: I'm in.
partner2@lexgreyllp.com.sg: Let's get it over and done with, try your best to secure an early resolution, get her to plead to a lesser charge if you can.
associate4@lexgreyllp.com.sg: There might be a chance she's innocent.
partner2@lexgreyllp.com.sg: With this set of facts? I doubt it. I'll let you speak to her in remand first to get her side of the story, but don't be swayed by what she says.
Beyond Reasonable Doubt?
Merida sat in her assigned prison interview room facing the glass, rehearsing the questions she was going to ask while waiting for Mei Yun to arrive.
The door buzzed.
A fragile and youthful-looking prisoner shuffled in. Merida sat up.
"Hi, may I address you as Mei Yun?"
The woman nodded.
"I'm Merida, I'm your defence counsel, and I'll be taking your case pro bono. Could you tell me your side of the story?"
Mei Yun sighed.
"I didn't kill him."
Merida nodded, taking down notes attentively.
"I honestly didn't kill him." She took a breath. "Charles never wanted sex. He did see me as a prostitute, but just as someone lowly to talk to, such that his thoughts would be safe with me."
"What thoughts?"
"He found out his wife was cheating on him with his business enemy, and that they were scheming to take over his company's business." Mei Yun smiled, sadly. "He didn't know who to turn to, didn't know what to do with the mess in his head. He just took me as an emotional punching bag."
"And how did you feel about it?"
"Relieved."
Merida looked up, puzzled.
"Most customers use me as a physical punching bag."
Merida nodded, and the interview went on as Mei Yun spoke of her background before the incident, and duly answered all of Merida's questions to the best of her ability.
"Final question, could I ask why your DNA was on his body and your fingerprints on the knife?"
"They were going to kill me. He saw, grabbed me and spun around, so the knife went through him instead. I tried to pull it out to save him. I-I didn't know what else to do. He had said to never let anyone know of the disgrace that he was confiding in a prostitute, to never expose him."
"Why the difference now?"
Mei Yun's voice dropped to a whisper, "I never knew I would be getting the death penalty. I just wanted to help."
Merida's hand wavered for a split second.
"Alright, thank you, Mei Yun. I'll indicate to the Court you're claiming trial, and we'll fight for a full acquittal." All or nothing, Merida thought to herself.
Mei Yun nodded.
"I'll try my best, but if I can't find evidence of your story, the Judge will see what the public sees."
— — —
associate4@lexgreyllp.com.sg: Mei Yun is claiming trial.
partner2@lexgreyllp.com.sg: Claiming trial? Sweetheart, what would you know of it? Better to leave it to the pros. You don't know what you're talking about, you don't know what that prostitute's talking about.
He was last seen with her in that brothel. Her DNA on his body. Her fingerprints on the knife. His money on the line.
associate4@lexgreyllp.com.sg: Elaine was cheating on him with his business rival. They wanted to take over his company and get married.
partner2@lexgreyllp.com.sg: I don't think that's a strong enough reason to kill Charles. She's just a desperate girl grasping at straws of excuses.
associate4@lexgreyllp.com.sg: I'll research deeper into this and let you know.
PP v Chen Mei Yun @ Velvet [2005] SGHC 310
"RED LIGHT DISTRICT MURDER: SEX WORKER CLAIMS TRIAL FOR ACQUITTAL, OR DEATH PENALTY"
"MURDERED TYCOON'S FAMILY ‘DISTRESSED' BY TRIAL PROCEDURE"
"NATION MOURNS BUSINESS TITAN CHARLES LEE"
Leading up to the trial, the headlines that covered the newspapers for the next few months fuelled the public's fire on both sides, but one burned brighter than the other.
Merida read them all.
"CHARLES LEE: A LIFE IN RETROSPECT" was the latest one.
There were only a few weeks left to the trial, and Merida was beginning to feel like the one grasping at straws of arguments. She knew there was an affair. She believed Mei Yun. The problem was that she was the only one who did.
She scrolled past a black-and-white picture, glossing over the caption.
"Playground rivals at 8, Charles Lee and Jareth Tan had traded their boardgames for boardrooms."
She frowned, and quickly scrolled up again.
Jareth Tan...at 8.
He looked all too familiar.
She closed her eyes, racking her brain for when she had seen that face before.
And it all clicked.
Her eyes flew open. Her heartbeat quickened. It wasn't just familiarity, it was recognition.
Evidence of the affair.
Charles' most cherished treasure was his son. Denzel Lee.
His wife didn't just cheat on him, his whole marriage was a lie. His kids weren't even his.
Denzel was a spitting image of Jareth.
She scrambled for business articles, books and records of Charles and his network, trying to draw up the big picture in her mind.
There were hints, but what would drive Elaine and Jareth to kill?
With a glint in her eye, Merida knew what she had to do now.
— — —
associate4@lexgreyllp.com.sg: I'm going to subpoena Elaine Lee and Jareth Tan. I have to cross-examine them. The Judge will know the truth. Mei Yun deserves at least that much.
partner2@lexgreyllp.com.sg: If this reflects badly on our firm, you are very clear as to what will happen.
associate4@lexgreyllp.com.sg: Don't worry. I will resign voluntarily.
— — —
Time marched on until the trial date. No amount of preparation could have soothed Merida's nerves as her documents shook slightly in her arms. Weeks of research, drafts, and ideation all came down to today, when the words on her papers were finally going to mean something.
Breathing in the filtered air, Merida brushed down her suit and steeled herself to enter Court 3C. As her hand pushed against the cold metal handle of the door, she realised she was all in from the start, when her fingers hit the keys of her laptop: "I'm in."